In my post a few days ago called, “Troubleshooter,” we noted the pattern that James follows in his writing: Problem – Analysis – Solution. The problem James sees is that God’s people are fighting and quarreling. They are adulterous people. They ask things of God and do not receive anything.
Why are people like this?
James’ analysis is that our desires battle within us. We covet things we cannot have. We fight and kill. We have the wrong motives. We are, in fact, enemies of God.
Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?
Sometimes when I talk people look at me like I am speaking a foreign language. My wife will testify to the fact that sometimes my words just don’t make sense. They do to me, in my head, but they only “count” if they make sense to the person I am talking to.
As a writer, I have a kind of paper mirror that is always in front of my face. I don’t always look at it, but it is always there. My words, once written, stop moving around. Given a little time, they start to take on a life of their own. Later, when I look at them again, I see them as others do. Sometimes they make sense. Sometimes they don’t.
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
James is rather blunt here. Sometimes when people are blunt, they stray into generalizations that are hurtful because they are not true. Is James’ statement entirely true?
Unfortunately, yes.
Jesus, James’ half-brother, makes the same point over and over again. In one example he says:
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” (Matthew 5: 21-22a)
That is a very black and white statement. I have to confess I have been angry with a brother once or twice. (That may be a bit of an understatement.) Technically that means I am subject to judgment.
We are faced with the same choice every minute of every day: God or not God. If we choose God, we choose to put him above all else. We love him with all our heart, our soul and our mind. If we are not doing that, then we are choosing what James refers to as “the world.”
You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
What is it you really need? Do you know? Needs are things we sometimes take for granted. For example, we need water but we don’t always want water. But take away your favorite beverages and plain water starts to look pretty good. Imagine you no longer have access to coffee or tea, sodas or fruit juice, or any other of the hundreds of possibilities. Now water looks great!
Here in the Northwest, we have a seemingly unlimited supply of water. But suppose you find yourself stranded in the middle of Eastern Oregon, miles from any town. Now you need water.
What else do we need, but sometimes lose sight of in the midst of all our daily distractions?
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.
I am beginning to see James in a new light. His mind is highly analytical. His entire letter is structured around this pattern repeated over and over again:
Problem – Analysis – Solution
What is the problem here? There are fights and quarrels among believers!
James provides his analysis: Fights and quarrels are outer reflections of the desires that battle inside you!
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
At the end of my post yesterday I asked this question: “Why is it good to be able to discern who is wise among a group of believers?”
In James’ letter, he tells us about the dangers of the tongue and the importance of taming it. I agree, and I agree that I need to tame mine first. Yet where the tongue is not reined in, James warns that it can ignite a great forest fire. It can corrupt the whole body. If it can corrupt an individual’s body can it also corrupt the church body?
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
Did you know there are two kinds of wisdom? I hadn’t thought about this before. James takes the word “wisdom” and turns it on its head in this passage.
The first kind of wisdom is the kind I always think about when I read Proverbs. Who is “wise and understanding?” If we answer, “I am!”, how do we know? What little voice tells us that we are wise and understanding? How do we know what kind of “wise” we are?
All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
James is taking us by the hand and showing us something that he considers very important. There is no room for hypocrisy when we stand before God. James does not tell us this to shame us or discourage us in our faith. Rather, he wants us to enter heaven victorious in Christ.
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.
Archimedes is often quoted as saying, “Give me the place to stand, and I shall move the earth.” His bases his confidence on his knowledge of levers and the ability of a lever to amplify force. Archimedes lived about two hundred years before Jesus walked the earth.
We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
How many of you (dear readers) are never at fault in what you say? I am taking James at his word when he writes “never.” So when we say, “… never at fault…” we mean someone who is not at fault and has never been at fault.
Hmmm… I’m not seeing a show of hands.
Let’s try the other side of the coin: How many of you have been at fault in what you say at least once in your lives?
